How Wholesalers Organize Before Busy Season
It’s that time of year again, wholesalers.
While everyone else is out enjoying the summer, catching rays and riding waves, you’re preparing. The end of the year is nigh, and retailers will soon be knocking down your doors.
Generally retail businesses like to stock up a couple of months ahead of the holiday season to get a leg up on the competition, and to make sure they aren’t overwhelmed or underprepared when stores are full.
That goes for retail, e-tail, large and small operations. And who do they get their products from? Wholesalers.
We’re sure you’re aware of this seasonality, and you’ve probably done some work to prepare already. But, if you really want to optimize your processes before the orders start flooding in, there are three things you can do.
1. Fix Your Accounting
By fix, we don’t necessarily mean making sure numbers are accurate. Though that’s important, and should probably be done earlier rather than later, issues like that can be fixed before the tax year ends.
For now, we’re talking about optimizing your accounting. Wholesalers are interesting because they operate solely in the business-to-business space. They’re not like retailers who buy from businesses to sell to customers. Wholesalers have to be sure their invoicing and payments are accurate, efficient, and as secure as possible.
Optimizing means eliminating data entry for your accounts. This gives you time to take on and fill more orders during the busy season.
If you don’t already have an outsourced or in-house accountant or bookkeeper, it’s a great time to start looking. But, if you can’t afford the luxury or don’t have time to find one, there are some great online resources to keep your finances in check amidst the pre-holiday chaos.
Xero, Netsuite, and Quickbooks are particularly popular and widely renowned software packages used by small and large businesses for accounting. These allow you to automate invoices and data entry when payments are sent and received, and even have specific apps to integrate with for specific processes like international payments.
For those, Veem is a fantastic option. But, maybe we’re a bit biased.
2. Streamline Your Order Process
To get your product moving, you need orders coming in.
Wholesalers can’t afford to have slow order processing anytime, but especially during busy seasons. The way e-tail is today, if a retailer can’t get a their product from you in time, they’ll go somewhere else. That not only means loss of business, but a hit to your reputation (especially in tight-knit markets).
If you’re a small operation or are working with small operations, your reaction time on order processing has to be as efficient as possible. Small businesses retailers and e-tailers are sometimes in volatile markets where demand is high and supply is low. If wholesalers aren’t ready to react, they may find themselves without a partner.
The best thing to do, much like with accounting, is to automate this process. Brandwise and Handshake are two services that help wholesale businesses eliminate tedious tasks like manual order entry, avoid entry pile ups, and ensure your partners and customers are happy.
Once your orders are in order (sorry, that was awful), next is making sure they’re properly and quickly filled.
3. Supply Chain Management
This really is a buzzword for 2018.
Supply chain management is the key to any wholesale business. Once again, the way they do things is a bit unique. Not only do wholesalers have to keep an eye out for exiting supply, they also have to make sure supplies coming in are moving just as efficiently.
Some of the major ways to effectively manage your supply chain is to mek sure transport is prepped for orders going in and out, and synchronizing your buy and sell patterns.
When product goes out, it has to come back in. Especially if a particular item is in high demand, you don’t want to be stuck with backorders and angry partners.
That means keeping an eye on your inventory, and properly managing it. Balancing supply and demand is, like, rule #1 for any business. Tracking inventory information is step 1. Wholesale businesses have to know what they have, when and if it’s going out, what’s coming in, and when it’ll be there.
Wholesalers also have to be willing to part with excess inventory, and know when the best time is to do so. Sure, it sucks to have to get rid of perfectly good products. But it sucks even more to have 15 orders for something you don’t have because your shelves are filled with last years’ Yeezy’s. Or whatever shoes people wear now.
Automation is at the heart of most organizational tactics for wholesalers, and many other types of businesses. As a business owner, best practice is to check up on these processes once in a while. Not that robots can’t be trusted, but as a responsible business owner, it’s always a good idea to check up on things.
Whether you’re a veteran of the wholesale holidays or are just starting out, things could always be smoother. With these tips, you’re sure to have a productive and lucrative season.
